Quinag

Sail Gharbh from the
East

Quinag is a "Y" shaped mountain mass that fills the area north of
Loch Assynt and south of Loch a Chairn Bhain, perhaps better known as the sea
loch now crossed by the beautifully curving bridge at
Kylesku.

Quinag is unusual in offering the energetic walker no fewer than
three separate mountains over 2,500ft (Corbetts) in a single day's outing. This
also means that this is no easy day out. While
Munros can often be strung
together along a ridge with no great drop between them, a mountain only becomes
a Corbett if it drops by at least 500 feet on all sides. So even though the
usual starting point for this walk is at a height of 250m, a tour of all the
summits is a fairly major undertaking.

Most climbs start from the car park on the east side of the A894
close to its highest point on Quinag's flank; at map reference NC233273. From
here you follow the path up to the low ridge that crosses the entrance to the
huge bowl that lies between two of Quinag's peaks, Spidean Coinich to your left
and Sail Gharbh ahead and to your right.

The easiest day out is to head left from this point and follow the
rocky slopes round the side of the bowl up to Spidean Coinich's summit. From
there you can press on to tackle the remaining peaks, or not.

An alternative on reaching the entrance to the bowl is to head
straight on across it towards the bealach at the low point between Spidean
Coinich and Sail Gharbh. From there you can either come back in a circular
route taking in Spidean Coinich, or move on to tackle Sail Gharbh and Sail Gorm
beyond. The permutations are endless; but each step does involve a fair bit of
descent and reascent.

Quinag can also be climbed from the A837
Lochinver road, again via
the bealach between Spidean Coinich and Sail Gharbh (though this time from the
other side); but with the disadvantage of a much lower starting point. This is
fascinating and complex mountain with a lot of character, and one whose tops
get steadily more lonely as you move west, away from the main road.